sojournTime @sojournTime@qoto.org

There's a simple way to spot a wannabe tyrant.

Listen for anyone who says democracy is the problem. Not a problem to solve within democracy. Not a system to improve. A fundamental flaw that needs to be replaced.

🧵

New Calculator template brings interactivity to Wikipedia articles: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedia_Signpost/2025-01-15/Technology_report

The template basically allows the creation of small forms that allow readers to specify some numbers as input and use a formula to generate an output. It's even possible to simulate some simple algorithms step-by-step and expand the form after each step: see for instance an example of this at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euclidean_algorithm#Procedure

Today, @ddosecrets published 212GB of chat logs and recordings from paramilitary/militia groups, including Three Percent and Oath Keepers, available for everyone to download https://ddosecrets.com/article/paramilitary-leaks

More about the leak from @ProPublica: https://www.propublica.org/article/ap3-oath-keepers-militia-mole

Lynn Conway, electricial engineer and computer scientist, co-architect of the VLSI design revolution, and transgender activist, was born #OTD in 1938.

She invented Dynamic Instruction Scheduling at IBM, but IBM fired her when they learned she was transitioning.

Photo: Lynn Conway

I'm fully aware that this is a total waste of my time, but given today's news about an Apple settlement relating to Siri audio recordings I wrote this blog post about why I still don't think that companies are spying on us through our phone's microphones: https://simonwillison.net/2025/Jan/2/they-spy-on-you-but-not-like-that/

#MardiPatisserie

Drops of Jupiter is still a banger

neat hand-drawn zoetrope disc

#zoetrope #animation

I assembled my new Framework laptop this morning! I was SUPER nervous about assembling a laptop, but they have great video and written instructions on their website, and it booted into bios with no issue! I'm really excited about having a laptop that is designed to be repairable, and I hope it lasts me for a LONG time

Turns out that the slowest part of this process is actually waiting for my rural internet to download the latest version of Ubuntu...

Thanks for the recommendations, fediverse.

#Netzfund

The open letter genre is not my favorite, but this is a pretty good one: it makes sense both as a letter and as an editorial (whereas I think most open letters only succeed at one of those at most). Makes me feel proud to be a ProPublica supporter. https://link.propublica.net/view/5f0a081e2adb6b4c4e117336mh8n0.fq0/77a20502

If you love Richard Feynman you've got to watch this video...

... where Angela Collier will ruthlessly dissect the mythology he built around himself. You probably won't agree with everything she says, and you may hate some of it, but it will still be thought-provoking.

I didn't know about what she calls "Feynman bros": lazy male students who read Surely You Must Be Joking, Mr. Feynman! and try to adopt the flashy womanizing persona he depicts there, instead of working hard on physics. I can easily believe they exist. So if you know a youngster who likes physics, don't give them that book. Instead do what my uncle did: give them The Feynman Lectures on Physics.

I didn't know these books and indeed every book 'by Feynman' was actually written by his Caltech colleague Robert Leighton or his son Ralph Leighton based on audiotapes of lectures or conversations. I still don't know how much of a role Feynman had in crafting these concoctions.

I *did* know that he once flew into a rage and tried to choke his second wife.

I did not know he was good with children, eagerly answering letters from them, etc. It's nice that Collier points out this good side.

I *did* notice, from his anecdotes, that he put a huge amount of work into trying to seem like a manly man rather than a nerd.

I didn't fully notice that almost none of his anecdotes feature the famous physicists he worked with at the Manhattan Project. Collier points out that this leaves him free to make things up.

I think she overlooks how he eagerly *points out* that he used tricks to seem smart. He explains the tricks to show they're not so hard.

I could go on....

(1/2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwKpj2ISQAc

Today, 100 million Americans are the target of a much larger misinformation campaign, executed by Fox News et al, showing them a distorted view of the world at the behest of the entire Republican Party, rather than a single candidate.

~Fin~